


Hungry No More

by CastielFollowMe



Series: Single Dad Shiro Verse [22]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Family time, Fluff, Gen, Misbehaving, Not Eating, Shiro is always worrying, mention of neglect, worried shiro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-10 23:16:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13511808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CastielFollowMe/pseuds/CastielFollowMe
Summary: Keith won't eat and Shiro is on the verge of panicking. Hopefully, he can figure a way to get his son to eat, before matters get worse.





	Hungry No More

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "Hi! I really really love your single dad au despite im not good at english (im korean btw) 

 

              “No!”

              “Come on Keith, please?”

              “No!”

              “Just a couple of bites.”

              “No!”

              “Please sweetheart, you can’t go hungry.”

              “No!”

              “Young man, don’t make me use my disappointed face.”

              “No! No!”

              “How about this? I’ll give you extra cuddles if you eat more.”

              “…No!”

              Shiro threw his arms in the air, frustrated beyond belief by this point. Who knew that a four-year-old could already cause so much frustration. He thought he was past the terrible two phase and into the formidable fours. Shiro wasn’t prepared for rebelling at his age, he was only winding down from his own rebellious nature. How was he supposed to handle Keith already rebelling against his father?  _He was too young._

              Keith, meanwhile, was glaring at his dinner plate (which was nothing more than chicken and rice at this point) with all of his little might. His arms were crossed over his chest and his cheeks were puffed out with his eyebrows scrunched. If Shiro hadn’t been arguing with Keith for the past two hours, he would have found Keith to look rather adorable.

              Yet, here they were, two hours since dinner started and Keith hadn’t eaten a bite. Shiro’s dinner was long done and he had hoped that Keith would eventually start eating. However, when the toddler didn’t even take a bite, Shiro began to try coaxing Keith into eating.

              Sometimes Keith could be a picky eater. The texture was gross, the flavor was too much, but by now Shiro had Keith’s palette down to a T. There hadn’t been any incidences with meals for a couple of years now. At least, not until last week. It started gradually, with Keith eating less and less at meals, or simply wanting something else to eat. Shiro had chalked it up to Keith getting picky again.

              However, when Keith started  _refusing_  meals he became worried. Keith wouldn’t even eat any alternatives that Shiro would try to give him. He flatly refused any kind of food, at several meals.

              It was worrying Shiro because now Keith’s health was concerned. Thankfully, Keith was still drinking as much as he normally did. But Shiro knew that Keith would get sick if he didn’t eat enough. It was only a matter of times before things got worse. Though, nothing Shiro tried worked on Keith.

              Timeouts only got Keith even more upset. He still didn’t eat.

              Switching out food had no reaction. Keith still wouldn’t eat.

              Snacks were barely working anymore. He still didn’t eat.

              Trying to eat Keith’s dinner with him didn’t do a thing. He still refused to eat.

              Tiredly, Shiro scrubbed his hand up and down his face before swallowing thickly. “Keith, baby, you have to eat. Please? If you don’t eat, you’ll get sick.”

              “No!” Keith scrunched up his face again and swung his legs.

              “Baby,” Shiro gently set his hands on Keith’s legs to keep him from swinging wildly. Thankfully, Keith stopped kicking, but his glare was now aimed at Shiro.  _Have mercy on my soul._  “You need to eat for Daddy, or else Daddy is going to be so sad.”

              This seemed to get Keith’s attention momentarily.

              “If you don’t eat and get sick, then daddy worries and that makes him sad,” Shiro continued quickly in hopes that this would work. He felt a bit bad by having to guilt his son into eating, and he knew that this wouldn’t be the healthiest of ways to get Keith to eat. However, he would do whatever it took to get Keith to eat  _tonight._  “Daddy doesn’t want to see you sick, so you have to eat. Please? Can you just eat for daddy?”

              Keith stared at his father with big (deceitful) blue eyes. His glare was slowly morphing into a look of concern. Shiro ignored the twinge in his gut when Keith looked down at his food. Slowly, without saying a word, Keith grabbed his fork and stabbed into a piece of chicken. Then, slowly and with a face of annoyance, Keith chewed on the meat and began to eat.

              Shiro almost cried when Keith finally finished his small portion.

              “Thank you, sweetheart, you did so well. Daddy is so proud of you.” Shiro cooed shakily. He pulled Keith out of his chair and into his arms. Immediately, Keith was satisfied and curled into his father for extra cuddles. Shiro decided not to bring up the matter to Keith again this night, despite the slight tremor in his hand. Instead, he cleaned off the dinner table and sat on the couch for a few hours, cuddling Keith until the toddler had passed out.

              Shiro knew he couldn’t let this go on.

              Keith needed help.

x.V.x

              “He’s so young. Is this normal behavior?” Shiro worriedly chewed his lip. The doctor in front of him nodded to acknowledge his words, as she peered down Keith’s throat with her light. Keith squirmed uncomfortably and Shiro gently squeezed his hand.

              “Everything looks fine to me. No internal redness or tearing in the throat,” Dr. Kegan said softly. She turned her small light off and peered at Keith’s eyes. “No yellow or red in his eyes or discolored skin. Everything looks perfectly healthy on this fella, aside from being slightly underweight.”

              Shiro felt his stomach drop.

              Keith tugged on Shiro’s arm, causing Shiro to remember the coloring book in his bag. He quickly pulled it out for his son, to keep Keith preoccupied while they talk.

              “Underweight?” Shiro licked his lips.

              “Yes. However, Keith has always been slightly below average in his height and weight,” Dr. Kegan explained, examining her records to verify. Shiro nodded. Keith was small for his age, but he and the doctors were hopeful that Keith would grow as he got older.

              “Right now he’s below the fiftieth percentile by a few pounds.” Dr. Kegan explained. “That’s a bit more than usual, however, he’s nowhere near as underweight as his records state back when he was six months old. I would be more concerned about his weight back then than his weight right now. He’s still within a relatively safe zone.”

              Shiro breathed a sigh of relief. His eyes darted over to Keith but found that Keith wasn’t listening to either of them and instead, coloring a pride of lions. When Shiro had first adopted Keith, despite having chubby cheeks and being the most beautiful thing that Shiro had ever seen, Keith had been  _very_  underweight. Shiro could remember the first time he held Keith, he had been terrified of crushing him. Babies were small, but Keith was tiny. He remembers how he could count  _every_  one of Keith’s ribs or how his teeny tummy was sunken in from hunger. Shiro  _never_  wants Keith to ever grow hungry like that ever again.

              As his father, Shiro had made a promise to Keith that day to never let his baby go hungry.

              “But he could get to that state if this keeps up,” Shiro stated.

              Dr. Kegan sighed and eventually nodded. “I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be concerned if Keith isn’t eating. It’s a major concern and he could continue to remain underweight which could affect his future growth. However, many kids are picky eaters. You’re not the first parent with a child refusing to eat.”

              Shiro frowned.

              “There’s nothing indicating that Keith has unwillingly stopped eating,” Dr. Kegan explained. Keith continued to color a lion green with his tongue poking out in concentration. “He’s had no allergic reactions either. My best guess is this is, unfortunately, a phase that Keith is going through. He doesn’t quite understand the importance of eating as you and I do, and it could simply be that Keith thinks eating is boring.”

              “Boring?!” Shiro almost slapped his forehead. “But he can’t stop eating.”

              “No, he can’t. The best that you can do, is continue to encourage him to eat. Even if it means eating a bit unhealthy right now. I would rather Keith willingly have fries and a burger for dinner, instead of nothing.” Dr. Kegan said slowly. Shiro nodded, eyes trailing over to Keith before glancing back at her. “You have to remain patient and calm. Getting angry might only make Keith more upset. There are alternatives to making sure Keith gets all of the nutrients that he needs.”

              “Really?” Shiro breathed.

              “Yes, you can start with vitamins and gummies. Then try getting Keith to drink special nutrient shakes, such as Pediasure or any other alternative, that is meant for nutritional value to children. It won’t be a permanent replacement for food, but for now, it will make sure to keep Keith healthy and well “fed” so to speak.” Dr. Kegan explained. “Try getting Keith to drink a glass of these during breakfast and at dinner. This way if Keith won’t eat, then he can at least get his nutrition in and his growth won’t be affected. Do not force feed him. That can ruin any progress you made. If in a couple weeks, Keith is still not eating, then we can try alternatives.”

              Shiro swallowed but found himself nodding at Dr. Kegan’s gentle words.

              “How do I try to get him to eat?” He finally asked.

              “Try making it a game? Or making it fun? You and your son have very creative imaginations,” Dr. Kegan’s smile widened when Shiro’s cheeks became aflame with a blush. “I know you’ll figure something out.”

               _You bet your bottom dollar that Shiro would._

_He would do anything for his son._

x.V.x

              “Alright, captain Keith. There are approximately ten enemy units of broccoli invading your northern lands of potato. They’re attempting to ransack the pools of gravy, what are your orders?”

              “We need to elimi-date the enemy!”

              “Excellent captain. How many shall we each destroy?”

              “Hmm, you take seven and I’ll take three!”

              “Are you sure captain?”

              “Um, I’ll take four?”

              “Most brilliant captain. Prepare the pronged weapons in, 3, 2, 1…go!”

              With that Shiro and Keith, both stabbed their forks into a head of broccoli. Shiro quickly scooped up six pieces and ate them up. He saw Keith eating three of them, and struggling with the last head of broccoli.

              “Captain, I suggest using potato land to smother the enemy. It’s effective in neutralizing their scent.” Shiro suggested between bites. He saw Keith dubiously eye the pile of mashed potatoes on his plate before slathering the broccoli in potato. Then he managed to wolf down the last head.

              “Brilliant captain! Our potato farmers will live to see another day! As a reward, they off you a spoon of their land for wealth and prosperity.” Shiro cheered when Keith bounced excitedly in his chair.

              “Well, I don’t care ‘bout wealth. But maybe we needs prop-erity?”

              “Yes, I agree.” Shiro smiled, scooping up a spoonful of potatoes for Keith. Keith swallowed the bite eagerly and Shiro scooped up his own spoonful.

              “Now, captain, there are still several healing chicken wings that haven’t been touched,” Shiro whispered, pointing towards the few chicken wings left.

              “Hmm, we gotsta recharge for the next attack, right?” Keith rubbed his chin thoughtfully before looking up at his dad for confirmation. Shiro nodded happily and laughed.

              “Yes, sir! They have a natural healing factor so you should be ready to go!” Shiro commented, watching with slight pride as Keith ate an entire chicken wing. He never thought that seeing his son eat would bring such  _relief_  to him.

              “Also, make sure to combine your  _milk_  too, to strengthen your armor captain.” Shiro nodded over towards Keith’s glass of Pediasure. Keith nodded absently, still in the mist of eating his chicken.

              A chuckle erupted from across the table.

              “Not that I mind, but when did we break the rules of no playing with our food?” Kuro asked softly. Shiro looked away from his son to smirk over at his brother. Kuro had become a part of their dinner routine once a week since Kuro had returned home two years ago. Keith had grown especially close to his only uncle and demanded that Kuro visit them for dinner once a week. Kuro had been sure to keep that promise.

              “Eh, since my boy got promoted to captain. He’s the best at defending our territory from yucky things like broccoli and  _instant ramen noodles.”_  Shiro teased as Kuro huffed.

              “Hey! Not all of us are five-star chefs  _cadet.”_  Kuro grumbled, stabbing at his own potatoes. However, he didn’t continue with the matter and instead smiled at Shiro when Shiro busied himself with wiping Keith’s face.

              He was well aware of the worry and fear Shiro had been through for the last few months. He’d called Kuro and their parents multiple times when Keith had first refused to eat. Since then, the Shirogane family had been involved with helping Keith every step of the way. Kuro was well aware of the dangers than Keith had faced by refusing to eat. He’d been told about Keith’s small height and weight and saw the pictures of Keith when Shiro had first adopted him. It had made him sick to see his nephew so tiny and sick, but he knew that Keith’s was in better hands the second that Shiro adopted him.

              There was no one better to love and care for Keith.

              And by turning dinner into game nights, only further proved Shiro’s place as Keith’s dad.

              “Cadet Uncle Kuro! You have an army of peas trying to steal your healing chicken!” Keith suddenly cried. Kuro jumped out of his thoughts, frowning at Keith.  _There weren’t any peas left on his plate._

              Just as he was thinking that Shiro (the bastard) had dumped  _two_  whole spoonsful of peas onto Kuro’s plate. Kuro stared at his brother with a look of horror while Shiro barely shrugged. As if to say,  _whoops, are you really gonna get mad at me in front of my baby boy?_

              Hands clenched around his fork, Kuro gritted his teeth to keep from frowning. Instead, he took a breath a smiled.

              “Captain Keith, I will do my best to defeat the enemy and keeps the Shirogane wood table free of infested vermin that are peas.”

              Despite the terrible taste of peas, Keith’s bright laughter was more than enough to keep Kuro quiet and enjoy his meal.  _Keith sure was special._

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I'm slowly trying to post prompts! Thank you to those who filled out my surveys for my university thesis research! I appreciate you taking the time to do that. For anyone knew, I could use help from authors to collect data and research for my senior design thesis at my university. I'm looking for authors (published or not, or looking into one-day publishing). Links to the surveys are below:
> 
> https://goo.gl/forms/vBVeqPRqjLQCcbYI3  
> https://goo.gl/forms/EdrnhZmfK5M7Osou2
> 
> Thanks again!


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